Nathan Eovaldi began to let himself think about it, if only briefly, as he walked off the field after the third inning Sunday afternoon at Citi Field.

Joey Wendle had just made a diving grab in shallow left field to rob Mets pinch-hitter Kevin Kaczmarski of a bloop single. It’s an essential ingredient in almost every perfect game — the defensive gem that keeps it alive, and it put the Rays pitcher one-third of the way through his bid at history.

“There’s always something like that [that] happens on one of those days,” Eovaldi would say later.

The former Yankee set down the next nine batters in a row, making it 18 up and 18 down. Brandon Nimmo led off the seventh inning by roping an 0-1 cutter to right field for a single, though, that ruined Eovaldi’s perfect game.

Eovaldi said he feels close to back to normal after undergoing his second Tommy John surgery in 2016 as a Yankee and then missing more time this season because of loose bodies in his elbow.

Sunday was the second time this year he has allowed no hits through six innings, doing it in his season debut May 30 against the Athletics while also taking a no-hitter into the sixth inning in June against the Nationals.

The Yankees were among the teams with scouts in attendance, according to reports, as Eovaldi — pitching in the final year of his contract — has become a potential trade target for contenders.

“Trade rumors and all that stuff, this is the time that stuff starts to pop up,” Eovaldi said. “I feel like that’s social media. You get to say whatever you want. I don’t have any of that stuff, so I’m just trying to stay focused on baseball.”